ITHACA, N.Y. -- Tree diseases, ecosystem disturbance, the crumbling of houses, biomass degradation, carbon cycling and bioremediation of environmental toxins have a lot more in common than first meets the eye. They are phenomena that can be caused by higher fungi -- the ascomycetes and basidiomycetes.

An expert on fungal mechanisms of wood decay, Barbara Illman, research project leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Forest Products Laboratory and an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin, will deliver three lectures during the week of April 25 in a series sponsored by the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS) on Frontier Applications in Synchrotron Radiation. CHESS supports a national X-ray user program using the Wilson synchrotron facility.

The lectures are:

• Monday, April 25, "Turning the Synchrotron Light on Fungal Behavior: Finding Clues to Biochemical Oxidation in Disease and Degradation," 4 p.m., with light refreshments at 3:30 p.m., in 404 Plant Sciences Building (Whetzel Seminar Room). Illman will describe how synchrotron radiation-based methods are being used to obtain needed information about the basic mechanisms by which filamentous fungi degrade lignocellulose, the major component of trees, the structural component of wooden houses and the woody biomass on the forest floor.
• Tuesday, April 26, "Putting Fungi to Work: Bioremediation of Environmental Toxins," 4:30 p.m., with light refreshments at 4 p.m., 233 Plant Sciences Building. The lecture will cover the application of synchrotron radiation methods to nanoscale chemical analysis of fungal remediation of environmental toxins.
• Thursday, April 28, "Disturbance of Alaskan Boreal Forests by Fungi and Insects: From the Landscape to the Nanoscale Level," 4:30 p.m., with light refreshments at 4 p.m., G10 Biotechnology Building. The lecture will explore a reductionist approach to understanding biological and chemical processes underlying ecological system. The lecture will describe novel applications of synchrotron radiation techniques to complex biological and chemical interactions at the molecular level.

Illman served as chair of the Users Executive Committee for the diverse 2,800-member user community at the National Synchrotron Light Source, Brookhaven National Lab. She is a charter member of the USDA Multi-State Project NC-1022, a community of scientists dedicated to applying synchrotron spectromicroscopy to the study of particulate matter. Illman currently serves as a scientific adviser to two international organizations dealing with forest health and quarantine issues, the North American Forestry Commission Insects and Disease Panel and the North American Plant Protection Organization. She is a member of the International Forestry Quarantine Research Group, which provides scientific advice to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) International Plant Protection Convention. She is a research project leader at the USDA Forest Service's national Forest Products Laboratory and is a member of several advisory and research panels.

The Frontier Applications in Synchrotron Radiation Lecture Series, established in 2004 by CHESS and Provost Biddy Martin, highlights pioneering scientists who are utilizing synchrotron radiation in new directions, especially in the biological and environmental areas.